Great Picture Books

I’ve always been a reader. I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t read. There are certain books that transport me through time, back to when I read them more frequently—because I’m also a repeat reader. When I find a book or story that really speaks to me, I will reread it year after year. Now as a mother, I find myself falling in love with great picture books once again. There’s no shame in loving a well-written kids’ book as an adult!

Here are some of my favorites from when I was growing up:

• The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble

• Big Dog, Little Dog by P.D. Eastman

• Little Bear by Else Homelund Minarik

• Morris Goes to School by Bernard Wiseman

And here are some of my favorites now:

• Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee by Chris Van Dusen

• Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

• Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

I don’t think any good book collection would be complete without some picture books. What are your favorites?

Where to Begin

If you’re looking to begin writing your own history, the first thing to know is that there is no wrong way to do it. The important part is to begin. You don’t have to start with your birth and end with today. Start anywhere you like and organize it later on. Look online for prompts to get the memories flowing. Here are a few links to help you get started:

• This Is Me Challenge: This is an older blog, but it is a great resource for prompts. There is also a section with information on starting a history for your kids as well.

• FamilySearch Blog: On the FamilySearch Blog, look for “52 Stories.” This includes prompts for each week of the year to help you write about different aspects of your life. There is also a list called “52 Stories for Families,” to help you write the story of your family.

• Writing Through Life: For more in-depth writing advice on writing a memoir or history, check out this site. It has a wealth of information about how to turn memories into stories that others will enjoy reading.

A personal history could become an endless project, as every day there is more to add. Instead of being discouraged by the project, try to embrace and celebrate any progress you make. Something is better than nothing. Break it into parts. And when you come to the end of a section, hire an editor to help you with clarity and consistency. It’s worth it because every life story is worth reading. Editing can help make yours more readable. Future generations will thank you!

Get started.

Then get help.

Reading Aloud Can Help

How often do you read aloud? As an adult, it’s probably not very often, unless you have small children like mine, who want to hear Go, Dog, Go every day. This type of reading isn’t very intellectually stimulating, but apparently it’s good for our brains anyway. An interesting article by Sophie Hardach was posted this week on BBC Future. It highlights several reasons to start reading aloud regularly. (Read the article in full here.) Reading aloud helps you process and remember what you’ve read, but there are other benefits as well.

When you’re writing or editing a piece, reading it aloud is an important step in the process. It’s common for writers to know what they’re trying to say, so when they read silently, they tend to fill in the blanks with what they expect to read. Slowing down and reading a text aloud will highlight missing or added words, awkward phrasing, typos, and incomplete or run-on sentences.

Reading the text aloud will help you see the mistake you might otherwise miss. Mistakenly repeated words are commonly found on line or page breaks, as shown in this example.

So next time you’re finishing a draft, take the time to read it aloud. You might be surprised by what you find.